Sheetal Potdar

Recently, the BCCI, the cricket governance body in India, issued a mandate to the Indian team restricting the presence of family during important tours and events. This comes on the back of some rather shocking results, and it seems like the cricketers’ families are having to pay for it. It is highly unlikely that the BCCI would have implemented this policy based on cold, hard, scientific evidence. Nevertheless, this does raise an important question – is the presence of family during major sporting events a benefit or a hindrance to the performance of athletes?

Family matters

It should come as no great surprise that family support and encouragement have a deep impact on a sportsperson’s performance and well-being. Not only does family presence matter for performance, but the very participation of kids in sport seems to depend on their parents’ involvement in school activities, across cultures. 

Many high profile athletes across sport have had well-publicized family support. Roger Federer, the winner of a record-setting 20 Grand Slams, has had constant support from his wife, Mirka, who herself gave up professional tennis to bring up their young family and help him balance his prolific career. Simone Biles, the American gymnast, credits her parents’ and her siblings’ support during her multiple-medal winning performance at the Paris Olympics in 2024.  Eliud Kipchoge, the only man to ever have run a marathon under two hours, acknowledges his family to be the driving force of his career. Surely, these elite athletes could not have achieved these incredible feats without the support of their family?

However, on the flip side, if family is abusive, sport can be an escape. In such situations, seeing the family at your place of solace can be disruptive. Consider the example of the French American tennis star, Mary Pierce. Her American father, who always had high expectations of her, physically abused her, and egged her on vociferously in her matches, to the extent that he was banned by the authorities (and even has the rule of banning family members named after him unofficially). Rid of her father’s stifling presence, Pierce went on to win multiple Grand Slams. Overbearing and overzealous fathers might have been the norm for women tennis players from the 90s, with Jennifer Capriati and Jelena Dokic also suffering the same fate as Pierce.

A more grounded version of this dichotomy is well-represented in the anecdotes of this paper.  The authors interviewed 9 track and field athletes who are also fathers, and found that many believed that family presence improved their performance, with one athlete pointing out that his performance had an added zing knowing that his daughter was watching on. Roger Federer too, asserted that fatherhood made him a better player, after winning his 17th Grand Slam.

However, other athletes admitted to there being extra pressure in knowing that their family is watching. Pressure aside, figuring out their tickets, their seats and/or arranging for childcare end up adding another layer of worry. They would much rather go to important sporting events without their family, so that they don’t have to deal with caring for their children in the middle of training and preparation. For them, it takes away the focus from the big picture of achieving sporting success, but adds to the guilt of ignoring their family. This pressure and guilt is even worse for athlete mothers, and that is in addition to the physical and emotional demands of pregnancy, as well as lack of support and facilities from the sporting authorities.

Passion for sport

According to psychology, there are two types of passion – harmonious passion and obsessive passion. Harmonious passion is one where the person has total control over their passion for any activity, without being addicted to it. On the other hand, obsessive passion is all-consuming, and the participant is prone to become addicted to every aspect of the activity they are passionate about. While either type can have a positive impact on performance, only harmonious passion is good for the long-term mental health of the athlete. A strong support system, in the form of friends and family, can contribute to the passion of a sportsperson to be harmonious, rather than obsessive. Simone Biles is a great example of someone with harmonious passion driving her love for sport, because when it got all too overwhelming, she was able to take a step back and prioritize her mental health. It comes as no surprise that she has a reliable support system in the form of her family.

Within the context of Indian sport, there are hundreds of stories of parents making life choices and sacrifices for the budding sport careers of their children. The father of the newest World Chess champion, D Gukesh epitomized this best, when he admitted that sacrifices by a family is not uncommon if the child has talent.  Even within cricket, from Sachin Tendulkar, to the newer crop of players like Nitish Kumar Reddy, parents have put their lives on the back seat to ensure the success of their kids pursuing sport. Sometimes this can be an incredible amount of pressure, and often these kids have to deal with breadwinner status from such a young age. Yet, when kids see that their parents are watching on, they are usually enthused to perform better. Reddy’s century was one of the few bright sparks for the Indian cricket team on a tough tour to Australia in recent times, and no one celebrated harder than his father. 

On a personal note, I am neither an athlete nor a family member of an athlete. But as an avid fan, I am invested in the success of the Indian cricket team. As a fan, I enjoy the drama surrounding milestones, and the frequent shots of anxious family members watching on. In those moments, it is clear how important family is to the Indian sportsperson. Fans come and go, but family stays as a constant support during wins and losses. To restrict their presence during long tours of foreign countries can become lonely for the athletes. In my opinion, it should be the player who decides when his/her family should visit. At the end of the day, as elite sportspersons, they represent the best possible physical and mental ability that humankind can achieve. They must be trusted by authorities to be able to make the right decisions for themselves in any situation, including family presence. Such blanket protocols of restricting family on tours can backfire, and I am afraid that we are tempting fate and prompting untimely retirements of legends. In my opinion, the BCCI erred in its judgement, and only time will tell how this will affect the Indian cricket team’s performance. I would happily be proven wrong.